Chapter 7 Hiruzen is Worried About Losing His Hair

Bang…

Bang…

Bang!

The next day, the sound of fists pounding on wood echoed through the riverside grove once again.

Fortunately, it was still early in the morning, so there were not many people around.

Otherwise, they would definitely come and complain about this kid disturbing the peace at the crack of dawn.

Today, Kurama didn't even need to call Naruto. He woke up on his own at the appointed time.

He did a quick wash-up, had some breakfast, and jogged straight back to his training spot from the day before to get started.

Thanks to the Uzumaki Clan's insane constitution, he returned home last night without any scars.

Moreover, Naruto found that his tolerance seemed to have improved.

Now, when he punched the tree, he barely felt anything at all.

Aside from the constant 'bang bang bang' ringing in his ears, there was no pain.

He could even keep a rhythm going while zoning out completely…

It was just like the state he was in in my previous life when he was daydreaming while spinning his pen in class.

"Naruto-chan..."

"Grandpa just happened to be passing by and thought he'd check in on you."

"Take a break, rest a bit."

Suddenly, Hiruzen's voice came to his ears. Naruto turned his head and looked, but his fists kept moving.

'Old man Sandaime?'

'What is he doing here?'

'Just happened to be passing by?'

'Yeah, right.'

Naruto didn't believe what Hiruzen said about passing by.

'This old man must have seen me practicing by the river and came specifically to check up on me.'

However, Naruto was not sure why Hiruzen came to find him.

'Was he really so bothered by me working hard?'

"Hey now, take a break… you don't wanna hurt yourself."

Hiruzen spoke with kindness in his tone, but he was very puzzled in his heart.

'Could it be that this kid is really addicted to training?'

'No!'

'I need to put a stop to his Taijutsu obsession before it goes too far!'

Hiruzen took out two scrolls from his robes and said to Naruto with a smile.

"Look, Grandpa brought you something good."

"B-Rank Ninjutsu, Shadow Clone Technique!"

"There is also a Chakra Refining Method!"

Naruto was speechless when he saw Hiruzen's overly dramatic presentation.

'Are you trying to fool me, old man?'

'You're giving me the Chakra Refining Method and Shadow Clone Technique right away?'

'Why don't you take out my dad's Flying Thunder God Technique while you're at it?'

'Or at least, you can hand over my mom's Sealing Technique!'

Still, Naruto kept up appearances and played the part of the surprised and grateful kid.

He walked quickly to Hiruzen, took the scrolls, and put on a big, excited grin.

"Thank you, Grandpa!"

"I will definitely work hard!"

When Hiruzen heard what Naruto said, a genuine smile appeared on Hiruzen's face.

He stretched out his hand and wanted to touch ruffle Naruto's hair…

But Naruto slipped away instantly.

Hiruzen's behavior seriously touched Naruto's red line.

'Touching my head again?'

'Doesn't he know that touching a child's head will stunt your growth?'

Naruto quickly dodged to the side and looked at Hiruzen with an angry face.

'This old man has loved touching my head since I was a child.'

'If I don't grow taller in the future, it's all his fault!'

"Hehehe..."

Hiruzen saw Naruto's antics and chuckled awkwardly.

Then, he gave Naruto some parting advice, "You should train now before the Academy starts."

"Grandpa will be waiting for your good news then."

After saying that, Hiruzen clasped his hands behind his back and slowly walked away.

But he was thinking in his heart...

'Now that I have giving Naruto those two scrolls, he won't have to beat the tree to death anymore, right?'

'He might not be able to refine Chakra before the Academy started.'

'Not to mention mastering the Shadow Clone Technique.'

Just as Hiruzen had thought, after he left, Naruto couldn't wait to open the scrolls and began to read them carefully.

The Shadow Clone Technique was still a bit too advanced for him, so after skimming it, he carefully put it aside.

Most of his focus went into learning how to refine Chakra.

"Chakra inside the human body..."

Naruto spent over twenty minutes reading the scroll over and over again. Then, he sat cross-legged on the ground, made a five-heart-facing-the-sky pose, and began to try to refine Chakra.

When Kurama, who is in the sealed space, saw this scene, he was utterly dumbfounded.

'What the hell is this kid doing?'

'Who the hell tries to refine Chakra in that pose!?'

"Brat, what are you doing?"

Ten minutes later, Kurama finally couldn't help but ask.

He really couldn't bear to watch it anymore.

'Is this brat brain-dead or what?'

"Shut up! I was just starting to feel something!"

"Ugh…"

As soon as he said this, Naruto noticed that his legs were numb.

It felt like a million bugs were crawling around inside his pants and biting him.

Naruto stood up with the help of the tree, staggering and limping in place.

"Brat, your blood wasn't circulating in that position. You had a better chance of refining Chakra if pigs started flying."

"Huh?"

Naruto was stunned for a moment after hearing what Kurama said.

'Is that not how you refine Chakra...?'

'Damn it. I'd read way too many Xianxia novels in my previous life, so my instincts had told me this was the right vibe for cultivation.'

'I always feel like something is wrong when I don't use this pose to refine Chakra.'

"Then, what pose should I use?"

Realizing he'd been going about it the wrong way, Naruto genuinely asked the old grandpa in his body for help.

"I've never heard of any specific pose required to refine Chakra!"

"Just… whatever!"

Kurama felt like he was really going to be pissed off to death by this brat.

'What the hell is this brat even thinking?!'

"Oh... I see."

Although what Kurama said made sense, Naruto still felt that Chakra should not be refined in this way.

This didn't match his mental image of training at all!

If conditions allowed, he'd probably craft a flying sword to complete the mood.

Feeling slightly dejected, he reluctantly slumped against the tree and began refining Chakra again… This time, in a super relaxed position.

Kurama felt relieved when he saw Naruto like this.

'Although this brat's train of thought is a little hard to understand, at least he is obedient.'

...But just as he started to let his guard down.

"Snore…"

From outside, Naruto's light snoring could be heard.

"BRAT!!!"

"GET YOUR ASS UP!"

Kurama's shout echoed furiously.

Just a second ago, he was feeling optimistic, but then Naruto had to go and slapped him in the face.

Kurama was so angry that he directly used some Chakra to attack Naruto's body.

Naruto, who was sleeping, felt as if he was getting beaten up from all directions. He jumped up from the ground instantly, flailing and yelling in panic, "Big fox! What the hell are you doing!?"

"What the hell were you doing?!"

'Huh?'

Naruto blinked around groggily, and realized he was still in the forest...

'Oh, right...'

'I'd been trying to refine chakra. And then... fell asleep?'

"Sorry... sorry."

"I didn't expect to fall asleep as soon as I lay down."

After realizing his behavior, Naruto immediately admitted his mistake.

"Shut up! Keep going!"

Kurama cut him off without mercy and did not accept his apology at all.

Naruto scratched his head with a sheepish grin, and then officially began to refine Chakra.

This time, he stayed fully alert, so as not to fall asleep like last time.

After a while, Naruto felt a warm surge bubbling up in his belly.

'I feel it!'

'Blue Chakra!'

"Big fox!"

"I did it!!"

"Shut up and focus!"

Seeing that Naruto was about to be distracted again, Kurama interrupted him quickly.

'He's barely squeezed out a sliver of Chakra, and he's already ready to throw a parade.'

'Back when I was his age, I was never so proud!'